Early years educational psychologist consultation sessions

Early years educational psychologist consultations are for early years practitioners and childminders of early years children in Barnsley settings to access with parents/carers. Consultations can be booked for:

• children whose needs are being supported at SEN support but who aren’t making progress within the graduated approach

• children for whom early years settings and parents/carers may be considering submitting an education, health and care needs assessment request

The sessions are held virtually using Microsoft Teams. To discuss and book a consultation please contact Joanne Patterson (Principal Educational Psychologist) at joannepatterson@barnsley.gov.uk.

Consent forms will be sent to you with confirmation of your appointment and will need to be returned in advance with the child’s early years graduated response document. Parents/carers are encouraged to attend consultations to facilitate shared discussions about their child.

In preparation for the consultation it will be helpful for early years practitioners and parents/carers to consider:

• what concerns you – developmental progress and barriers to learning

• what you've already tried and what's working

• what strengths can be built on

• what outcomes for the child you'd like to focus on

Thinking differently parent and carer workshops

Thinking differently is for parents and carers of children with identified social communication and interaction needs. A diagnosis of autism isn't required to access this workshop.

This session gives parents and carers the opportunity to find out more about social communication and interaction needs and the support that's available, as well as chat and share experiences with others.

The thinking differently workshop is available face to face or online. To access the course and other parent courses, please visit our social communication and interaction team Eventbrite page.

You can also access this workshop via a PowerPoint presentation sent directly to your home. To do this please email melaniebooth@barnsley.gov.uk.

Cygnet autism support

The Cygnet autism support programme offers support to families of autistic children and young people aged 5 to 18 years. Your child/young person must have a diagnosis of autism in order for you to attend.

The course involves three weeks of face-to-face sessions, learning about key aspects of autism and networking with other families. The session times will be 9:45am to 2:45pm to accommodate drop off and pick up times for parents/carers.

Each family can get two places, this allows for a second parent or family member, or a carer/significant other person to attend.

To register your interest in this course, please email our Lead Trainer, Louise Stringer at louisestringer@barnsley.gov.uk.

In your email it would be useful to know the following:

• how many places you would like (one or two)

• which days of the week you cannot attend - we will then plan dates around availability where possible

Once we have enough parents/carers to run a group, we will be in touch via email to give you the session details. We will give at least three week’s notice for you to make any arrangements necessary to attend, such as time off work, childcare etc.

Supporting small stepped development of early years children

A practical interactive session on using the early years developmental progress tool to support the development of early years children. The sessions will focus on play and interaction approaches to support children’s development and break down developmental milestones into smaller steps. The sessions have been developed for parents/carers of early years children, early years practitioners and colleagues working in services that support settings and parents/carers of early years children.

This is a great opportunity for parents/carers and practitioners to access free training together. Early years colleagues and practitioners can book a place via POD and parents/carers can book places via our portage service Eventbrite page. There is no charge for this session.

Early years developmental progress tool webinar

This webinar is for practitioners working in Barnsley educational settings, and for colleagues in Barnsley services working with settings and/or families of early years children. The webinar has been developed to support a shared understanding of the early years developmental progress tool and how to use it.

The webinar can be accessed individually, but would be most useful to watch as a whole staff team to support discussion and reflection, and inform practice in applying the tool. It's important to watch the video before using the tool, and please complete the evaluation at the end, as it will also provide evidence as part of your ongoing development record.

Play Video

Emotional literacy support assistants training

The role title of emotional literacy support assistant (ELSA) is gained through access to a six-day training package developed and delivered by educational psychologists, with ongoing regular supervision facilitated by educational psychologists that supports the practice of ELSAs.

ELSAs are trained to plan and deliver programmes of support to pupils in their school who are experiencing temporary or longer term additional emotional needs. The training aims to build capacity in schools to meet the emotional needs of their pupils and covers aspects of emotional literacy including:

• emotional awareness
• building resilience
• emotional regulation
• social and friendship skills
• active listening and reflective conversations
• loss, bereavement and trauma

The ELSA Network supports and assists ELSAs in their work.

To access Barnsley ELSA training and be awarded ELSA status you'll need to be able to meet the following criteria:

• be employed as a teaching assistant, higher level teaching assistant, or learning mentor in a Barnsley school
• have capacity within your role to plan and deliver weekly ELSA support to identified pupils in your school
• commit to attending all six of the following full days training 
• attend half termly ongoing supervision sessions facilitated by the Barnsley educational psychology service
• support from your manager to promote ELSAs in your school
• commitment to attend an initial introductory meeting to plan for having a registered ELSA in school

If you're able to meet the above criteria and want to enquire about booking a place on our ELSA training course, email Joanne Patterson (Principal Educational Psychologist) at joannepatterson@barnsley.gov.uk.  Please include your role, the name of the school you work at, and the name, role and email contact of your manager.

2025/26 ELSA training dates

• Day 1: Thursday 16 April 2026 - 9am to 3pm
• Day 2: Thursday 30 April 2026 - 9am to 3pm
• Day 3: Thursday 21 May 2026 - 9am to 3pm
• Day 4: Thursday 4 June 2026 - 9am to 3pm
• Day 5: Thursday 18 June 2026 - 9am to 3pm
• Day 6: Thursday 2 July 2026 - 9am to 3pm

Education inclusion service training events

You can take a look at the training courses on offer and book your place through POD. See the list of courses available.